Cover Story PROGANIC ®
Cover Story PROGANIC ® - Spinning to new Heights A new addition to the already well-known family of petrochemicalfree biopolymers, Proganic T and K, is PROGANIC TEX, specially developed to meet the specific needs of the fibre industry. To date, most available bio-blends contain greater or less amounts of mineral oil based additives and are consequently unable to deliver a 100% ecological solution. PROGANIC, an established biopolymer which caused a storm in the bio-plastic industry by claiming one of the industry’s most prestigious bio-material awards (by nova-Institute) in 2010 with its rigorous rejection of fossil additives, is set to cause a similar situation with its PROGANIC TEX. The new biopolymer fulfills the high standards set by the PROGANIC management and is free of petro-chemical additives and, similar to its family members, is made from 100% renewable materials and minerals. The new ‘PROGANIC TEX’ is suitable for mono and multi-filaments and can be spun to 25 µm. It is specially targeted for the expanding sanitary and hygiene products industry. The fibres can be used on their own or in combination with other natural fibres to replace synthetics fibres in disposables, woven and non-woven hygiene articles, filters, cleaning cloths (see cover photo) as well as articles of daily use such as brooms and brushes. By Antje Hiel June Corporate Communications Bad Wiessee, Germany Product performance is comparable to conventional synthetic fibres. The biobased composition allows products made from PROGANIC TEX to be CO 2 neutrally incinerated. Its special additive-free material formulation based on PHA and minerals allows bio-degradation in home or industry composting facilities. Contrary to the industry’s opinion this PHA-based biopolymer offers an interesting price/performance ratio. As with all Proganic resins, PROGANIC TEX is already in the test stages at a number of well-known International companies. Composition: Green, greener, Proganic The award winning biopolymer consists of 100 % renewable materials and minerals. It is durable, food-safe and water repellent. PROGANIC meets the stringent requirements of the DIN 14851/14852, so this is not another ‘biodegradable’ product that needs to be taken to a commercial composting facility to truly degrade. In fact It degrades in a way similar to wood with full biodegration in less than 12 months at 20°C, faster than spruce at a temperature where most bioplastics do not even begin to degrade. Composting is CO 2 -neutral with no residue and CO 2 -neutral incineration is guaranteed. Due to its unparalleled biocompatibility the label with the green leaf was awarded for ‘Biomaterial of the year 2010’ (nova-Institute, Germany) as well as ‘nawaro product of the month 4/2010’ (web-portal www.nachwachsende-rohstoffe.biz) and also received the ‘Best Green 16 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/11] Vol. 6
Cover Story PROGANIC TEX offers a sustainable alternative to the production of fibres and filaments. Style Award 2010’ (Trade Fair Shanghai) as well as the ‘Design Pro Award 2011’ on the occasion of the ‘Material Vision’ trade fair in Frankfurt. Technical data: promising results The initial successful POY (Partially Oriented Yarn) meltspinning tests were run at a spinning temperature of 175°C. The aim was to produce staple fibre and multifilament. Spinning was performed using the following parameters spinning temperature: 175 °C spinneret: 48 holes, 500 µm undrawn filament count: 48 dtex (= 48 gram per 10,000 metres) undrawn yarn count: 2300 dtex The spinning ran very smoothly. Tensile test of the crystalline filaments: Test result/multifilaments Multifilament yarn count: 370 dtex Single yarn count: 7.7 dtex Diameter/single filament: 26 µm Tenacity: 3.2 cN/tec ( ~ 48 N/mm2) Elongation at break: 17.7 % Test result/monofilaments Single yarn count: 8.94 dtex (calculated based on higher density) Diameter: 28 µm Tenacity: 5.4 cN/tec (~81 N/mm2) Elongation at break: 85.2 % The differences in rigidity are system-induced by factors such as pre-tension. ‘bio.k.’ brushes and brooms were presented at the Ambiente 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany, and since June 2011 have been available in selected stores of the German ‘Kaufland’ retail chain. The innovative product line consists of an indoor broom, a broom set, dishwasher brush, and toilet brush set. For the thinner microfibres with a diameter of 25µm, Proganic sees potential for applications in the field of semidurables, disposables for the hygiene and cosmetics industry as well as felts and filters, but also functional clothing and domestic textiles. Jenny, this issue’s cover girl, said: “I hate window cleaning, but I’m sure that the producer will come up with a lot more useful microfibre applications made 100% from renewable resources” Prospects: The beginning of a new era And indeed: at the present time companies such as, Propper, Rival, bio.k. and Doraplast, plus others, successfully produce products made from PROGANIC. Diverse wellknown manufacturers in the toy, food packaging, consumer products and cosmetics industries are currently running tests with PROGANIC . With the introduction of PROGANIC TEX the aim is to foster the green renaissance in the textile industry. Two international companies in this field are already testing PROGANIC TEX. What is certain, is that more of the PROGANIC story will follow….. www.proganic.de Range of applications: 1001 options for the textile industry PROGANIC TEX can be spun into mono and multifilament as well as yarns. Its performance features make it suitable for wovens, yarns and fabrics and non-woven textiles such as fleece and felt. Filaments with diameters in the 100µm range can, for example be used for brooms, brushes and similar. The German company Gerhard Haas KG for example, well known for the high quality of Rival ® household products, recently added a new dimension to the increasing family of Proganic products with its ‘bio.k’ label. The company chose Proganic as a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic. The new bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/11] Vol. 6 17
